September 27, 2020: Barred Owl and Maine Geology

There's no denying it any longer, fall is coming.  We spent last week on Penobscot Bay in Maine, and driving back through western Maine and the northern Lakes Region there was a lot of color in the hills.  But first, yesterday, on a morning walk, an impressive Barred Owl flew along my path and landed in a tree just 50 yards away.

A barred owl studies me carefully.

We just watched each other for quite some time, he occasionally turning his head around to check out the surroundings.  

Eventually he must have decided it was better to move on to find hunting grounds undisturbed by humans, and off he went, completely silent wings carrying this large raptor.

Too bad I wasn't quick enough to catch all of it.

Owls have some highly adapted features that allow them to be very successful hunters.  Of course they can turn their heads completely around to scan for food in all directions, but they also have incredible hearing, with ears located such that they can use sound for direction finding to pinpoint the exact location of a tiny mouse scratching around on the forest floor.  Then, when they go on the attack, extremely fine texturing on the edges of their wings allow a nearly-silent flight so their prey never hears them coming.  And at night, those large eyes provide keen eyesight even in dim light.  Those poor little rodents hardly stand a chance.

Now back to Maine.  We took several nice walks along the shore as well as on the mountains that rise just beyond the shoreline.  The coast of Maine is another geologist's bonanza of exposed continent building and destruction, with the mountains on Penobscot Bay being the result of continental plates colliding, leaving a range of mountains right beside the ocean.  

The view from Mt. Battie, right at the edge of Camden Harbor.

Blueberry fields on the top of Beech Hill overlooking Penobscot bay.

The lime kilns in Rockport tell the story of limestone deposits left near the equator some 500 million years ago and carried to their current location by shifting tectonic plates.

Lime kilns right at the Rockland Harbor allowed efficient loading onto ships.

The limestone was burned in these huge kilns at 1000 degrees centigrade (1800 Farenheit) to produce lime (calcium oxide) which was used in mortar and plaster to build the growing cities of Boston and New York.  For many years in the 1880's this part of Maine provided all the lime for the east coast, peaking in 1892 when 1.4 million casks of lime were shipped from Rockport's 86 kilns.  [Ref:  Penobscot Marine Museum]

We didn't see any unusual wildlife on our walks, just the usual seabirds including some we have in the Lakes Region including cormorants and great blue heron.

A heron stalks its prey along the Passagasswakeag River upstream from Belfast.

I kept looking for loons that had already made their way to the Maine coast for the winter but I didn't find any.  Certainly our new loon family hasn't left their summer lake yet.  Here's the latest on Harold and Betty whom are doing fine, and still being attended to by both parents.

Our loon family enjoys a beautiful Saturday on Lake Wicwas.

But their parents seem to be forcing independence on them.  We watched one of the parents bring up a fish, but in stark contrast to earlier days, neither chick went scurrying over to collect it.

Bringing up a fish for the kids' home-schooling.

They both seemed rather indifferent, as if they knew what was going to happen next.  The parent brought the fish near to them, and dropped it in the water, letting them know, if you want to eat, you'd better learn to fish!  One of them was hungry enough to take the challenge.

"I'll get it!"

"Where did you go?"

"There it is!"

I couldn't tell if it ended up with the fish in its stomach, but it sure made an effort to chase the little minnow down!  Yes, cold weather is coming and the chicks need to learn how to survive on their own.  

In addition to the loons, there were lots of people out enjoying the beautiful summer-like weather this weekend.  But like the loons, we know it's time to prepare for what's ahead.  

Maples and blueberries are changing now.

Next week looks to be about peak foliage in the Lakes Region.

September 20, 2020: California's Trees Come to New Hampshire

Yes, those are California's forests blowing over us at 25,000 feet.  The fires in California, Oregon, and Colorado are making their presence known here in New England via smoke being transported 3000 miles in the jet stream.  The fine particles in the air absorb and reflect the shorter wavelengths of light, leaving only red to penetrate the atmosphere at sunset.

That's the sun on September 16th.  (No filter)

A clear day - evident by long visibility at ground level - should provide us a beautiful blue sky but instead paints a uniformly gray background behind the mountains due to the smoke at higher levels in the atmosphere.

Mount Lafayette, 40 miles away, was clearly visible from the White Mountain Ledge.

Here in New Hampshire we're experiencing a serious drought and our local fire danger is also very high, especially with the strong, dry winds, but it's nothing compared to the diametrically opposed weather problems in the gulf states and the west.

There's a lot going on around the lakes right now as summer transitions over to autumn - the autumnal equinox occurs this Tuesday at 9:30am - and changes are happening quickly.  Almost on cue, we had the first frost just this morning.  I'll cover as much as I can in a rapid fire manner.

It's impressive how well some of our wildflowers can flourish even in a dry summer.  The goldenrod and asters somehow adapt to the conditions and are just as beautiful as ever.

Heath Asters, Calico Asters, and Goldenrod share the stage.

I don't ever remember seeing the stream at the entrance to the Hamlin Trails completely dry.

A bridge over troubled water.

It will be interesting to see how the trees and the fall foliage handle the drought.

Today's frost was limited to open areas with good sky exposure for radiational cooling, and away from the lake, as the warm water kept areas near the lake several degrees warmer than just a few hundred feet distant.

First frost:  September 20, 2020

Even with the drought the mushrooms are fruiting, though not as abundantly as usual.

A trio of Amanita mushrooms.  (Note the green oak gall photo-bombing the picture.)

This is easier to understand when I remember that a mushroom is the fruit of a huge fungus than can spread underground over a very large area so it has a wide domain from which to collect moisture.

With cooler weather the animals seem to be more active.  I've seen several deer in the neighborhood the past couple of weeks, including this one in a field, trying to decide if it needs to worry about me or can just ignore me.  

It did take a few bounds, stop and look again, then repeated the process until it decided it was safe.

Other signs of animals on the move are evident by their scat.  These two calling cards were found on a walk near Rattlesnake Mountain in Sandwich.

A good size pile of bear scat.

And an even larger pile from a moose.

Smaller animals are on the move too, including turkeys.  I've seen large flocks all around the region, including a multi-family unit of 19 crossing Livingstone Road just west of Meredith Center.  On a trip through the town of Hill last week I had to stop for another large flock crossing in front of me, and when I did, some of the poults decided it was a nice place to plop down for a rest.  

Murray Hill Road in Hill.

I might think it was because the road was warm, but this was before 8:00 in the morning, so that wasn't the attraction.

Lots of early-migrating ducks have been paddling around in the lake.

The early morning wake-up call.

I see large groups early in the morning, while later in the day they seem to break up into pairs and smaller groups.

Our loon family, however, hasn't gone anywhere yet.  

Harold or Betty, looking quite mature on a crisp fall day.

Harold and Betty are still here, as are both parents.  If there was only one chick it's likely the male would have left by now, but with two chicks to feed he is still helping out.  But in the next few weeks both parents should be departing, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves into November before they also head to the ocean for the winter.  

I wonder if they notice the changes in the sky.

September 13, 2020: Soaking up the Waning Rays of Summer

We saw a few more cool mornings this week and the daylight hours have shrunk to almost twelve; there's no denying now that fall is around the corner, meaning it's time to soak in all the warm days we get now.  Returning from a trip on the lake one day this week I found a most interesting sight:  a great blue heron doing just that.

A great blue heron soaking up the late summer rays.

I have never seen a heron do this before - its wings spread out, collecting up the sun as if it were trying to get a tan under its chin!  

The only other bird I've seen act like this is the cormorant.  The cormorant is a large diving bird similar to a loon but with a distinct difference in it feathers:  the cormorant's feathers are not water-repellent as the loons are, so they absorb water, making the cormorant heavier and more efficient at diving and catching fish.  But that added weight makes it more difficult to become airborne and to fly efficiently, which is why you'll often see cormorants sitting on the rocks at the ocean with their wings spread out - they are drying their feathers.  You might even see this behavior on a lake in New Hampshire.

A double-crested cormorant drys its wings over Lake Wicwas.

Cormorants are infrequent visitors to Lake Wicwas;  some years I see several around the lake, but most often there are none or maybe a transient for a few days.

A trio of cormorants sits under a waxing moon in 2010.

The cool weather has sparked a change in behavior amongst our other large diving birds, the loons.  This week we saw only one chick and a parent together, the first time I haven't found the two chicks close together, which was a little concerning.  But farther down the lake we found the other chick, also with a parent.  Also, one of the chick/parent pairs was much farther north in the lake that the chicks have been all summer, almost to Bryant Island.  These two facts make me think that our other pair of loons (the banded pair) has left the lake.

Prior to this point there has always been one loon out on guard duty well south of Bryant Island keeping the other loons away from the family while the other parent watched over both chicks.  The fact that they have moved farther north into the other pair's territory tells me the northern pair is gone for the winter.  And that bodes well for Harold and Betty, as one more danger to them is gone, and now both parents can provide food for the chicks.  I have yet to see either of the chicks catch their own food, though the loon experts at the Loon Preservation Committee say they are capable of it now, although just like teenagers, they'll rely on mom and dad as long as they can get away with it!

It must be an exciting time for the new chicks as they get to explore new horizons.

Harold and Betty are seeing new parts of the lake for the first time.

We were fortunate to have a beautiful day when the Lake Wicwas Association held the 11th Annual Paddle Regatta over Labor Day weekend.

It was well attended by a group of paddlers that explored some of the lake's marshes and conservation areas, including the islands conserved by Rawson Wood many years ago for loon nesting habitat, and which were in fact the nesting location for our banded pair this year.  

If you're out on the lake in the next week soaking up some sun, take a look near the shore for these interesting flowers:

Turtlehead (Chelone Glabra)

They tend to hide out among the blueberries and other low growth so you may to look a bit, but they have such an interesting bloom its worth seeking them out.  Regarding its Latin name, according to the US Forest Service, "In Greek mythology, there was a nymph named Chelone who insulted the gods; in punishment, she was turned into a turtle."

Cold nights and misty mornings will be more common now, so be sure to get out and enjoy the warm afternoons whenever you get the chance!

Morning mist envelops Wedding Island.

September 6, 2020: Pine Cone Pinball

It's the time of year to harvest and store the fruits of summer, and these busy little rascals are hard at it, playing their own version of Pine Cone Pinball.

A Red Squirrel comes to see who's in its forest.

If you look high up in the pine trees you'll find this year's crop of White Pine cones are large and healthy - certainly the squirrels have found them.

Over time these cones will open up and drop their thousand of tiny seeds all over the forest floor which works well for the trees in spreading their seeds, but it makes it tough for the squirrels to collect them.  So rather than wait for them to fall, these guys climb way up to the top of the trees and cut off the cones while the seeds are still inside.  When they drop the cones they bounce off branch after branch, ricocheting throughout the tree like a ball in a pinball machine.  On a quiet morning it can sound like an arcade with a continuous banging of pine cones off resonant dead pine branches before making the final "thunk" as it hits the ground like the silver ball draining out the bottom of the machine.  Game Over.  It's nature's version of Funspot.  (And yes, I tried, but I wasn't able to capture the sound on a recording, so you'll just have to experience it live!)

After the squirrels cut the cones off a tree they'll scurry down and store them away in one of their many secret hordes, saving them for a cold winter day when food is scarce.  

A cache of pine cones squirreled away under a fallen tree.

Which explains why, even in the middle of winter there are piles of pine cones on top of the snow.

Other food is becoming available in the forest too.  A few weeks ago after a rare rain event there was a short surge of mushroom growth, but then it slowed down again and there haven't been that many around.  There may not be an annual mushroom post in the journal this year, we'll have to see what emerges.  But I did see one splendid crop of new growth on an old decaying birch tree.

New Fungus growth on birch tree.

I think this is a variety of pholiota, perhaps Pholiota squarrosa, which has the common name, "shaggy scalycap" (squarrosa means "scabby").

If you've been in the lakes lately you know the shorter days and cool nights are taking a toll on the water temperate.  I won't dwell on the couple of weak trees that are turning color (it's too early for that!) but how about the lily pads that are starting to shut down for summer?

A few lily pads are turning yellow.

Whether you're out in the early morning woods listening to pine cones drop, or on the water watching the mist rise, it's a great time to be in New Hampshire, with one of the best seasons about to arrive.

Mist rises from the forest as the morning sun lights up clouds and water.

Finally, I'm putting this in the journal not only because it's a beautiful boat, but also because I love the name:  N.H. Dreamin'.